British lifestyle brand Superdry continues its global expansion by exploring the connection between art and fashion at the grand opening of their West Coast flagship store at Westfield Century City. To celebrate the grand opening, Superdry has commissioned a series of photographs by LA-based artist Parker Day featuring an iconic cast of the city’s most influential misfits. The exhibition titled “Portraits” presents Day’s first series of black and white photographs alongside a musical performance by rapper and producer Hodgy. Creative Direction by Nathaly Charria.

This month-long installation celebrates the diverse culture of the Superdry brand. With the opening of their West Coast flagship store, Superdry redefines how patron and gallery spaces can coexist within a retail environment. Art and fashion have long drawn inspiration from the muse. This exhibition unifies both industries around a cult group of local style misfits. In her portraits, Day captures the raw essence of each subject, styled in Superdry by @mstr_of_disguise aka Ann-Marie Hoang.

“Cruising," a reference to queer meeting spaces, brings together some of Los Angeles’ most iconic, emerging, and historical LGBTQ artists. The program presents a multi-generational perspective that speaks to the diversity of what it means to be queer in 2016 and seeks to honor those who have paved the way for LGBTQ visibility in contemporary culture. With the goal of creating an inclusive, inspiring, and accessible exhibition, “Cruising” is both a nostalgic reminder of yesterday's survival tactics and a call to continue constructing profound queer ecosystems in public space and within the art world.

The opening of “Cruising” will kick off LA PRIDE Festival & Parade on Friday June 10, 2016 with a free preview and curator-led exhibition tour starting at 6PM followed by an 8PM screening of Zackary Drucker’s prodigious films at the City Council Chambers (Located in the West Hollywood Library). Recently Drucker encountered censorship from institutions exhibiting her work and CSW is proud to share her voice uncensored as part of the 2016 LA PRIDE weekend. This screening will consist of “Southern For Pussy,” “Fish,” and “She Gone Rogue.” The later was commissioned by the Hammer Museum and presented at the inaugural 2012 Los Angeles Biennial, subsequently at 2014 Whitney Biennial, acquired by Smith College Museum of Art, and made possible by Luis De Jesus Gallery.

Christopher Street West Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Composed entirely of passionate volunteers, CSW is dedicated to human rights, education, outreach and better understanding within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, as well as the broader community. Founded in response to the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York on June 28, 1969, Christopher Street West conducted the first parade in the world advocating for gay rights on June 28, 1970 in Hollywood, CA. That tradition lives on today in the form of the LA PRIDE Music Festival and Parade, now in its 46th year, taking place in the City of West Hollywood, CA.

CSW engages with event production firm JJ|LA LLC in the production and management of the LA PRIDE Music Festival & Parade.

Los Angeles documentary filmmaker Eric Minh Swenson tells the story of Millie Brown's Rainbow Body and her supporting cast in this short video. Eric focuses on documenting the LA art scene through film, photography, and writing. Within the last three years, he's produced nearly 400 films on the art world and is always a familiar face amongst the crowds.

British performance artist Millie Brown—famous for puking on Lady Gaga during the singer’s 2014 SXSW performance—will unveil her fourth solo exhibition in Los Angeles on April 10. Presented by Nicole Ehrlich and curated by Nathaly Charria, “Rainbow Body” will feature whimsical paintings all created “using almond milk, food coloring, stomach and hands”—a more pleasant way of referring to Brown’s unusual practice, where she vomits colored milk directly onto canvases (Amazing). This particular group of paintings pulls inspiration from Brown’s new home in California, collectively telling “the story of the Los Angeles sky, its past and its present, its light and its dark.” We caught up with Brown to dissect this exhibition, discussing abstract expressionism, enlightenment and Buddhist monasteries:

Millie Brown’s “Rainbow Body” opens with a private reception on April 9, hosted by Flaunt Magazine, and will run through April 23 at 8472 Melrose Place.

On “Rainbow Body:”

“‘Rainbow Body’ is a reflection of my time here in California. The palette’s inspiration came from the skies, shapes, architecture and energy of the city. Each of these paintings embodies that energy and my presence within it. In many respects, my paintings are the climax to a solitary performance of their own creation. Using my body to paint from the inside out with stomach and hands. The process is of equal importance to me as the result on canvas. I relate to the abstract expressionism movement, which in some senses was the birth of performance art itself. The artist behind the painting became a performer, projecting his/her self onto the canvas and opening up a whole new way to use the tools we possess.”

On the sky:

“Every day I climb a mountaintop, sit and meditate, while looking over the city and into the sky. I’ve become more fascinated by the sky than ever before in my life. The colors and combinations of shades are different from anywhere else—they inspire me to recreate their infinite beauty through myself and body.”

On living in Los Angeles:

“I’ve become used to working and creating in London for so long: The fast pace, the grayness and raw creativity surrounding me. I love it and thrive within that environment. In LA, it’s the polar-opposite, yet somehow a perfect complement and in some ways an antidote to what I’ve become accustomed to. I’ve spent more time in nature here and that’s influenced the inspiration within my work. I feel people in LA have a very different outlook on life and encourage ambition in others more than other places I’ve lived. I don’t create unless I’m in the right headspace to create a positive piece of work. I think this city has given me a more positive outlook and that translates on to my canvases.”

On her process:

“I used the same process to create these pieces as my previous ones, but this time I used a different technique with my hands and dripping to manipulate the paint, rather than leaving the splatters where they fell. I wanted to see all color on ‘Rainbow Body’—color from side-to-side. I wanted to get lost within the color-scape and movement.”

On enlightenment:

“Every performance I’ve ever conceptualized has pushed my own physical boundaries, opening up a vulnerable and often uncomfortable place mentally. I believe we can only grow mentally and spiritually by exceeding these self-made boundaries. Although we are physical beings existing in this physical realm, we are also way more powerful than we believe. Our minds are truly incredible tools. Every time I push past the discomfort into this state of mind, I find a sense of enlightenment from within—a place where my creative thoughts have no limits and my mind feels liberated.”

On Tibetan and Buddhist Theology:

“The concept of ‘Rainbow Body’ is deeply rooted in Tibetan and Buddhist theology. It is the observation from a third person’s perspective of another being gaining complete knowledge: Enlightenment. The person observes the other as a spectrum of colors all embodying a rainbow presence. My performances have roots in some spiritual practices. Much of my childhood was spent in Buddhist monasteries and spiritual retreats—I’ve drawn from these experiences, but do not relate personally to any one religion. I think it’s more powerful and natural to draw from all, taking the good from each as inspiration for life. These elements often seep into my work.”